Avoid plastic bottled water with low PH and any unhealthy added ingredients.

Get shower chlorine filters.

Better hydration and absorption of minerals from pure water.

Avoid toxins from municipal water supplies.

Finding Pure Water

I had to find pure water when I was ill so my body could recover. Don’t underestimate the importance of drinking truly pure water. I found out that the City of San Diego started to add fluoride to the municipal water supply in 2011. This was really upsetting news since I had struggled with hypothyroidism for years, and did not want to be exposed to fluoride. I also had young children that I did not want exposed. At the time, I searched for affordable options and ended up with a reverse osmosis (RO) filter. I did not know that RO filters not only take out the toxins they also take out minerals that our bodies need, too, so if you use one you need to put the minerals back in. Sea salt or trace minerals like LYTEshow or Concentrace are alternatives. I also found out that my RO filter only filters a portion of the fluoride, and that was not good enough for me or my family so I went on a quest to find pure water. It is one of the most important things that we can do since our bodies are about 70% water, and we can’t live without it. I was also told by my dentist that municipal water supplies have traces of pharmaceuticals (yuck!) as well as the chlorine that is used to disinfect it.

I was able to find a pure water source near where I live at Find a Spring. It is a great resource for finding pure water across the country. I found Carlsbad Alkaline Water that is from an artesian well discovered in 1882 that is 1,700 feet below ground by the ocean. It is naturally alkaline PH of 8.76, and because it is so deep it is not exposed to toxins in the air. I am grateful to have such a pure source near me. Glass is the best for holding water, but it can get heavy, so at least use bpa free plastic bottles. We use 3 gallon bottles and go refill them about every other week so we always have pure water on hand. They recently started selling 1 liter plastic bottles at stores around San Diego, which is also convenient especially for traveling.

I was in Sedona Arizona for a workshop, and found out that they have a great source of pure well water for a portion of town and the Chocolat Tree restaurant has several taps that anyone can use day or night to fill up. When I travel I usually stop at the local natural food market and stock up on glass bottles of water such as The Mountain Valley Spring Water, Voss, Perrier or Pellegrino. I also grab a few lemons and limes to add flavor. Later I was able to fill up the empty bottles for free at Chocolate Tree.

Put Water in the Sun

My functional medicine doctor told me that in order to activate the minerals in the well water that I should put it in glass jars and put them outside in the sun for 15 minutes. It made sense to me that when water was in a river or a stream that it would be actively flowing and picking up minerals from the rocks that it goes over, but if it was in a well that it would be more stagnant, and that the sun could break up the stagnation and energize the water.

I did more research and found that there are benefits to adding a teaspoon of sea salt to the quart of water to get even more minerals. I like French Grey Sea Salt by San Francisco Salt Co. as it dissolves quickly. I put the glass jar (I use old juice quart jars or glass pitchers) on the ground either on the grass or dirt. The sun water tastes great, and feels good. I can really tell the difference in the taste and texture as it seems more smooth and sweeter. Try it and see what differences you notice.

Before my functional medicine doctor told me about sun water, I had learned from Gemisphere (Gemisphere.com) that you could use aquamarine gemstones to energize water similar to the flow of a river. I find that this is another way to make the water more energized and absorbable. I use the Carlsbad Alkaline Water and pour it over the aquamarine strand (with a few crystals of salt), and then put it in the sun. It’s also helpful when it’s raining or foggy outside that I could just use the aquamarine strand.

Remove Chlorine and Check PH

Don’t forget about exposure to chlorine for showers and baths. Chlorine exposure in the shower/bath may be even worse than drinking it because the body does not filter it, and it is absorbed through the lungs and skin. I got a shower chlorine filter and use the shower head to fill up the bath. I like the Dr. Mercola shower filter and the Lifekind cartridge free shower dechlorinator.

Earlier this year my daughter and I went to the Healthy Living Festival, and attended a talk about structured water. The optimal PH of human blood of 7.4 was discussed, and that alkaline or structured water was healthier for people. PH testing of bottled water from typical name brands was very acidic around 2.0 or 3.0, which does not give the health benefits that many may think they are getting by drinking bottled water. Be careful when selecting bottled water and look for higher PH levels and glass bottles, and also look to make sure that they don’t have anything unhealthy added to the water like fructose or sugar. Pure water is the best resource for the body to be properly hydrated.

Finding the most pure water available and putting it in the sun with sea salt to energize it your body will give the best opportunity for optimal hydration and absorption of minerals, and to avoid toxins from municipal water supplies.